Status: closed
Junk debt collection lawsuits
Defendant: Mel Harris & Associates
In Monique Sykes et al. v. Harris, as many as 100,000 individuals could be entitled to damages for default judgments allegedly obtained without serving the defendants with court papers. The suit contends that a law firm (Mel Harris & Associates), its client consumer debt purchaser and a process serving company schemed to obtain thousands of default judgments in state court via bogus service documentation ("sewer service") and false affidavits. When the consumers failed to appear in court because they did not receive notice of the lawsuits, the defendants obtained default judgments against them. Some of the charges allege violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the lawsuit also asserts that the companies conspired under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).